This invention relates to a convertible patient transport apparatus and method of transporting a patient. The invention is especially applicable for use in the health care industry to reduce the incidence of on-the-job injury associated with manually lifting, handling and transferring patients. Injuries to the back and shoulder are most common.
Standard programs for health care injury prevention focus on body mechanics and back care, and the proper lifting techniques to employ when handling a patient. Notwithstanding this, injuries result even when proper body mechanics and lifting techniques are used. Lifting a patient is not simply overcoming a heavy weight. The patient's physical condition, size, shape, deformities, physical impairments, and weight are all factors impacting the manner in which a transfer is made. Some patients are combative and uncooperative. Patients can also be unpredictable--suddenly resisting movement and throwing caregivers off balance during a lift or transfer. Optimum posture is often difficult to maintain making the proper lifting technique impractical to follow.
Although mechanical and electromechanical lifting devices have been available for years, statistics showing physical overexertion from lifting and transferring bedridden patients remain unacceptable. Some caregivers are reluctant to use such devices because of their many drawbacks and limitations. Among the disadvantages are the excessive time required to perform the lift and the instability of the patient in the device during the lift. Such devices can also aggravate sensitive skin, and typically place the patient in embarrassing positions when lifted. Moreover, these devices create storage problems, are difficult to maneuver, and generally cannot move sufficiently close to the patient's bed to effect a safe and proper transfer.
Many of the above problems were first addressed by the applicant in its prior issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,483, and were further addressed in its subsequent application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/054,728, filed on Apr. 3, 1998. The complete disclosures of this patent and pending application are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention has features and advantages beyond those described in the '483 Patent and pending application. The invention converts between an expanded condition in order to move directly over the bed of the patient to mechanically lift and remove the patient from the bed, and a narrowed condition in order to effectively maneuver within the patient's room and through doorways and hallways. The invention utilizes bent leg technology to adjust the width of the apparatus without impacting its overall load supporting capacity.